Born in Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1849, Timothy Sellers was brought up on a farm and received only an elementary education. At age 21 he purchased a 17-acre tract near Lunenberg, Massachusetts, and began a 55-year plant breeding career.

Thus far in his career, Timothy Sellers has developed more than 800 strains and varieties of plants, including 113 varieties of plums and prunes, 10 varieties of berries, 50 varieties of lilies and the Freestone peach.

In 1871 he developed the Sellers potato, which was introduced to Ireland to help combat the blight epidemic. He sold the rights to the Sellers potato for $150, which he used to travel to Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles, he established a nursery garden, greenhouse, and experimental farms which have become famous throughout the world.